


The Other Side Of Paradise

by WhenSaturnFalls



Category: SCP Foundation
Genre: Angst, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, One Shot, Songfic, Unhappy Ending, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27626657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenSaturnFalls/pseuds/WhenSaturnFalls
Summary: Life isn’t perfect. You can’t always get what you want. You can’t expect people to feel the same way you do. You can make bad decisions when you aren’t in a good mental place. You can watch someone you love fall for someone else. And if you truly love them, you’ll let them be happy.
Relationships: Dr. Alto Clef/Dr. Benjamin Kondraki, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	The Other Side Of Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> The Other Side Of Paradise - Glass Animals

## The Other Side Of Paradise

Alto was happy for once. Ever since he got out of a bad relationship and joined up with the Foundation, he finally felt free. He even met someone. A man named Benjamin.

**When I was young and stupid, my love left to be a rock and roll star. He told me, “Please don’t worry,” wise little smile that spoke so safely.**

They hit it off immediately. They balanced each other and challenged each other. Everything was fine. He felt true love for once. This was paradise. 

**He booked a one-way ticket. Out west, that’s where they make it. Six kids stuck in a bedsit to sunswept poolside riches.**

He was never nice to people. But he was lenient with Benjamin. He couldn’t help it. His heart would skip a beat whenever his eyes met Ben’s. He’d lose his breath whenever Ben looked badass. He was completely in love. 

**He met a girl who wore Versace, pink feather coats and jumbo jewelry. Gonna be a hoop phenomenon. He’s gonna be Hakeem Olajuwon.**

So one day, he suggested they get together. And Benjamin had _agreed._ Everything fell into place. The world was perfect. He could die tomorrow and be content with his life. 

**He’s got a gold Camaro, he said over the payphone. I try to keep my cool but my life turns in slow motion.**

Their relationship intensified. They held hands. They even kissed. And everything was _fine._

**Bye-bye, baby blue. I wish you could see the wicked truth. Caught up in a rush, it’s killing you. Screaming at the sun you blow into. Curled up in a grip when we were us. Fingers in a fist like you might run. I settle for a ghost I never knew. Super-paradise I held onto. But I settle for a ghost.**

But then it all went wrong. Benjamin wanted to break up. He couldn’t figure out what he did wrong. Ben would insist he didn’t do anything wrong, it was just his own personal feelings getting in the way. And that he _didn’t want to lead him on._

**Where I was from in NOLA, no one left to be a rock and roll star. He’d stay and treat his lady, give everything to his new baby.**

Everything that made him happy had just been torn away in the blink of an eye. But it could still work, Ben still wanted to be friends. His reasoning for breaking it off was because he thought they were better off as friends. But Alto didn’t think that. Alto wanted him to love him and tell him that he was his world. 

**I miss him, don’t you blame me? That boy went stone cold crazy. Caught up in camera lust, he’s chasing that pappy pipe dream.**

But he held his tongue and went with it. _Let him be happy_ , he would think to himself. 

**I know you don’t but I... I know you don’t but I still try. My thunder shook him down. My thunder came and shook him down.**

Then, everything got even worse. Benjamin wanted out. He didn’t want to live this chaotic and stressful life anymore. He wanted no part of the Foundation anymore. He wanted what you’d call a “white picket fence” kind of life. He wouldn’t find that here. So he left.

**That girl is gone but I... That girl is gone but I still try. I think it’s over now. The bullet hit but maybe not.**

And suddenly, Alto’s companions and acquaintances found that he had had a sudden mood shift. He was more hostile than usual. He turned into a recluse, only leaving his office when absolutely necessary. His friends would try to coax him out and he would respond by shooting just above their heads with his shotgun. 

**I feel so FUCKING numb. It hits my head and I feel numb.**

This went on for quite some time. But eventually, he broke. Alto called up Benjamin and waited as it rang on the other side. 

**My body’s looking wrong.**

“Hello?”

**My body’s looking wrong.**

“Ben?”

**My body’s looking wrong.**

“Alto! Hey, how’s it been? It’s been... what, five years?”

**Bye-bye, baby blue.**

_Five? It’s really been that long? I didn’t even notice._

**I wish you could see the wicked truth.**

“It’s been... anticlimactic. Boring without you here.”

**Caught up in a rush, it’s killing you.**

“Ah, well, I’ve finally got everything I wanted. A normal family. I’ve got a wife, Monica. And a son too, Draven. What about you?”

**Screaming at the sun you blow into.**

_What? He just... But..._ His heart was breaking. It hurt. It hurt so much. The pain was unbearable.

**Curled up in a grip when we were us.**

“Well... Err... The same old things. Nothing changes.”

“Right... Well, is this all you wanted to talk about? Or...?”

**Fingers in a fist like you might run.**

“Umm... Yeah, uhh, bye. Sorry for bothering you, Ben.”

“Oh no, you didn’t bother me. I wasn’t doing anything anyway. But we should talk again sometime.”

**I settle for a ghost I never knew.**

The line hung up. He hung his head and let a few tears fall onto his desk. His phone buzzed and he glanced down at it. Benjamin had sent him a photo of him, a woman Alto didn’t recognize, and a small boy that had a striking resemblance to the older Kondraki. 

_So. That’s his normal family. I see. I’m not someone he deemed as normal. I’m just... his weird friend._

And in the haze of his painful heartbreak, he made the worst decision he could possibly make. He typed in a phone number and called it.

**Super-paradise I held onto.**

It rang once and immediately picked up. The line crackled with static and a familiar female voice spoke through it. 

“Francis?”

“Yeah, Lily. It’s me.”

**But I settle for a ghost.**


End file.
